This man injected a chip into his hand, became first to board flight with a wave

Andreas Sjöström ,vice president of digital for technology consulting company Sogeti, is probably updating his LinkedIn profile right about now to include the fact that he is the first person to ever board a plane using only the NFC chip he has implanted in his hand. As in no paper boarding pass, no smartphone, and no biometric scan. Just a wave of his hand.

Sjöström loaded his Scandinavian Airlines EuroBonus member ID onto the chip, and was able to use his it to pass from security all the way to the gate at Stockholm Arlanda Airport.

The NFC (near-field communication) chip broadcasts information that NFC readers can detect to electronically trigger an event or transaction. Think waving your iPhone at the pharmacy checkout counter when using Apple Pay.

NFC chips have been embeddable, or rather injectable, for quite some time now. Some are no larger than a grain of rice, and can be purchased preloaded in a syringe. The implant Sjöström used for his aviation experimentation, an xNT implant, can be purchased for about $100. Sjöström says prior to his boarding test, he had successfully used his chip-enhanced hand to open locked doors and pay his fare on public transportation, and that Scandinavian Airlines was excited to work with him on the innovative test. Sjöström told Mic:

"The biggest surprise was the feeling of being able to identify myself without anything other than my body. I didn't have to pull out anything. It gave me a new sensation, sort of a pre-notion of what it will be like in the future when we don't have to reach out with physical objects to accomplish things."

Check out video of both the boarding in question, and the injection of the NFC chip (curiously at the end of the video) above, and decide for yourself if you think the singularity is finally upon us or not.